Tuesday, 31 May 2011

Another issue of Design for Industry magazine here. This one is from Aug/Sep 1959. Featured on the spreads (if you click on them they will increase in size, albeit in a rather clunky fashion) is the Scottish Industries Exhibition that featured 'more than 200 firms representing 100 industries... showing goods of Scottish manufacture'. According to the article, the previous fairs (in 1949 and 1954) attracted more than a million visitors, with buyers from over 100 countries placing orders of more than £20m.

'Germans, Japanese and the Swiss are untiring in their efforts to sell their products abroad. We must do the same,' advises Mr Matthew H Donaldson, General Manager of the exhibition.

House of Hackney specialises in decorative, traditionally twisted home furnishings. A brief chat with Frieda (the brand's founder, alongside her husband) revealed that they have spent a great deal of time sourcing the best British factories with which to work. From the china makers of Stoke on Trent and Scottish furniture makers to the last eiderdown factory in England. They have evidently done their research.

Expect to hear more on all of the above in the near future, but for now, enjoy some images of their work.

Top to bottom, items by: Pli, Assemblyroom, Scene, Another Country, House of Hackney

Made in Britain is a misleading title. Davis' account is really an economic review of the UK. Therefore it contains very little on (physical) items created here. He visits BAE Systems, McLaren and Brompton - focusing on already well known British manufacturing success stories.

Davis writes in a manner similar to his presenting style on Radio 4 - convivial and easy to understand. There are some nice passages on the history of British manufacturing in the chapter entitled 'How We Got Here' plus some interesting examples of previous 'Back Britain' campaigns (including a 'Help Britain Pen Pal Club' which encouraged children to 'create new friends... future business contacts for your country'; a 60s version of LinkedIn for kids?) Despite these bursts of interesting material, the book suffers from a pervading feeling that it is merely an accompaniment to the TV series of the same name.

"We need to reorient resources away from domestic consumption towards the production of items that can help pay our way in the world," says Davis, in one of his many musings on the importance of manufacturing to the UK economy. He argues his case well throughout, providing a sensible level of optimism on the role of manufacturing working alongside other industries.

Made in Britain is enjoyably upbeat and serves as a sound introduction to how Britain makes money. However, if you are looking for in-depth analysis of the products we make and the people who make them you might want to look elsewhere. It will be interesting to see how the forthcoming TV series works alongside the book.

Sunday, 15 May 2011

Interesting article by Will Self in The Times yesterday. Somewhat surprisingly Self is keen on The Shard. M&I agrees with many of his sentiments, perhaps spurred by a similar visit back in November last year. Here are a couple of quotes from behind the Murdoch paywall:

'The strength of the city is its capacity to mutate while retaining its continuity: cycling down Borough High Street from the Elephant, I was confronted by the huge silver flank of the Shard perfectly framing John Price's 1735 Neo-Classical church of St George the Martyr."

"The view was fabulous: the southern perspective looking north means that you see the entire City and West End laid out like museum exhibits at your feet."

All photos taken by M&I, November 2010. Top to bottom: towards Canary Wharf, St Pauls, looking up, train lines running into London Bridge (looking south east), towards the West End and Centre Point, building materials.